"You Men at Gottesdienst"
“I don’t understand why you men at Gottesdienst can’t worship the way you want to with the people who choose to come to your services with out constantly judging, criticizing, and ridiculing those who choose to worship differently.”
“Ann” (name changed) posted the above comment in response to my piece “The Inevitable Conclusion.” I have since removed her comment so as to protect her privacy. The idea (and ideas) that she raises, as well as the biblical and confessional nature of her question, are the important thing rather than identifying her specifically.
Elsewhere, this same lady has written that she is a former LCMS member who, after decades of hoping for women to be “ordained” and for a change in our doctrine and practice regarding homosexuality and other sexual issues, finally left the LCMS. Obviously, we are not a good fit for her. There are ELCA churches all over the country, and, like Alice’s Restaurant, you can get anything you want there - not even excepting Alice as your pastor, and Alice may even have an Adam’s apple. You can even get open goddess worship in the ELCA: the inevitable conclusion to women’s “ordination.”
“Ann’s” feminist views may well explain her use of the passive-aggressive expression “you men” in her question. And yes, we are men, as are all pastors of Christ’s church, as were all of the specific disciples whom Jesus called and ordained and sent out as apostles with the call to preach and administer sacraments. God has always ordained men, including the men in the office of the Old Testament priesthood. For ministry is man’s work. It sometimes calls for us to behave in ways that would be appalling for a woman. God made us differently for good reason.
In the family and in society, femininity is nurturing and peacemaking. And this is necessary for civilization - especially for the upbringing of children. This is missing where, for example, two men adopt a child. Roleplaying is not the real thing. And our families need women (and of course, things happen in our fallen world, and we often don’t have the optimal situation that God designed). The sacred office of womanhood is not replaceable by affectation and a pair of falsies. In addition to femininity, there are times when we need the masculine function of confrontation, and even engaging in fighting. The sexes complement one another in this way. Our Creator knew what He was doing, even though we poor miserable sinners often think we know better than God. And yes, there are times when women are called upon of necessity to pop a tent peg in a man’s skull, but such exceptional circumstances are a kind of opus alienum (alien work) for our wives and mothers and sisters and daughters. That said, I have to admit, the name “St. Jael Lutheran Church” has its charm.
We see this masculine role of holy confrontation in ministry when Elijah the Prophet confronted and taunted the priests of Baal. He did not simply “worship the way he wanted to with the people who chose to come to his services without judging, criticizing, and ridiculing those who chose to worship differently.” In fact, Elijah engaged in banter that a lot of women would find distasteful (to their credit as the fairer and more civilized sex), implying that the god of the Baalers might be “relieving himself” (which is, of course, a euphemism for something far more crass and germane to the masculine manner of speech). Moreover, Elijah didn’t just mock them, but also slaughtered the lot of them.
Our Lord Himself was also less than winsome with those who chose to worship in a different way, using harsh language like “hypocrites” and “offspring of vipers” and other choice insults about their particular worship practices and religious customs. He even mocked the effeminacy of King Herod, the wearer of “soft clothing” - whom He also derided as a “fox.” We also see examples of St. Paul engaging in such shocking language, recorded by the Holy Spirit for us in the Scriptures, such as telling his opponents that they should go and chop off their own genitals (and this has nothing to do with “gender affirming care”)! Granted, this is not likely to be anyone’s confirmation verse, the subject of a Sunday School felt board lesson, or the centerpiece of an episode of Davey and Goliath. But there it is. Guys sometimes talk this way when they are being confrontational.
The pastor is a shepherd, a guardian of the sheep. Yes, there is a function of nurture in the parish, as we are spiritual fathers. And there is a role for nurturing by fathers in the family, who can be as gentle and doting with their little ones as a mother hen. But there are also times when discipline must be administered to the sheep, and when the sheep must be protected by masculine confrontation. It is natural for women to be uncomfortable with this kind of talk (and again, this is to their credit). In the opening scene of the film version of Bo Gietz’s Hammer of God, the pastors get into a debate over politics. Voices are raised, and the men become animated. The women uncomfortably shuffle the little ones outside of earshot, and the men duke it out. That’s how we are. And that is a feature, not a bug.
And we pastors are called to preach “in season and out of season,” in the words of the Rev. Martin Franzmann, “To men who like, or like it not.” We are not interested in winning any popularity contests. We are called to be faithful to Scripture and Confessions - and to protect the flocks under our care. And so when we have people in the flock - and especially pastors - who advocate for unscriptural beliefs that are popular in the world but prohibited by Scripture, we are called to confront such people and call them to repent. If they don’t, we are to drive them out for the sake and protection of the flock.
I know of two retired pastors in the LCMS who, for decades, tried stealthily and behind the scenes to change the LCMS’s doctrine and practice regarding homosexuality (one of them was also a women’s “ordination” advocate to boot). These two older men left the parish, though one of them is still on the roster as an emeritus. I know of another pastor who retired, “married” his same-sex paramour, adopted two young boys, posted pictures of their “family” attending a drag show in a bar, and then got “divorced.” What became of the boys, I don’t know. But this is rebellion against the Word of God. We men who are pastors are not called to just keep our yaps shut and look the other way, pretending not to see, like the wicked priest and the Levite in our Lord’s parable. We are called to act, unlike Eli, who looked the other way for years when his sons distorted the proper worship of God. For there are true victims of violating the Word of God and teaching others to do the same. We are called to be faithful.
I am gratified that many of those - lay and clergy alike - who hold these worldly and unscriptural views are leaving our fellowship, one way or another. They are being replaced by younger pastors and laity who are not only devoted to the pure Word of God, but are generally also more liturgical.
As far as the example that “Ann” is chiding me about, this is not just one more example of “contemporary worship” - which is bad enough in a Lutheran context - but an example of mocking the Name that is above every name. The use of our Lord’s name (which means God Saves) and His divine title of Messiah, should never be the object of cheap laughs. It was gross, and worse than gross. And there are way too many in our synod who would probably be comfortable with that dancing-girl routine that brought disrepute to our Lord’s name being performed at their own altars (or stages that took the place of the altar). And yes, we will catch you-know-what for saying so, but we’re going to say so. We will not only preach, but also confess, both in season and out of season.
As for those in our synod, lay and clergy, those in positions of authority, who may secretly harbor unscriptural teachings and who want to change us, we need to make it clear that they are not welcome. To paraphrase an old airline commercial, the ELCA is ready when you are.
Don’t like it? Don’t care.
Part of my motivation in writing about these things is the sake of laity who are scandalized and angry because of such things. How many times do we hear from faithful laity who pass numerous LCMS churches, driving their families long distances on Sunday morning, just to find a proper liturgy and preaching instead of a clown show (if not a full-blown you-know-what-show)? And I am gratified that both of our seminaries are teaching and practicing liturgical worship - just as we confess in our Book of Concord - as well as the scriptural views of marriage. They are hopefully also teaching our young men to be unapologetically masculine - which is countercultural to the feminist, emasculated world most young people inhabit.
I hope this trajectory reinforces “Ann’s” decision to bail on our synod. It was a good choice. And I am grateful for her writing and making her voice heard. We need more of those holding such views, men and women alike, to be vocal, and to follow “Ann’s” example. It shows integrity.
And as the sainted Rev. Dr. Kenneth Korby advises pastors serving in the current milieu of feminism, sexual depravity, and a disdain for God’s Word: “God ordains men. Be one.”